


Author, Author

by TheMightyGhost



Series: Stories [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anxiety, Bullying, Comfort, Crying, Gen, Hugging, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Loki (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Loki is a writer, Not Canon Compliant, Other, References to Depression, Soft Loki, Verbal Abuse, student
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 06:58:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20671187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMightyGhost/pseuds/TheMightyGhost
Summary: Sigrid's school is visited by acclaimed writer Loki Laufeyson.





	Author, Author

There was an author coming in to present a talk to their class. Usually, Sigrid would have been all over it, but her night had been eventful and all she wanted to do was curl up and fall asleep and never wake up.

She sat at the far back of the classroom for a change, keeping her bag on the desk, trying to hide herself away as much as possible. She should have been excited: the guest speaker was one of her favourite authors, he’d inspired her so much, and yet here she was, exhausted and sullen and depressed and longing for the sweet release of death.

Mrs Van Dyne stepped out into the front of the classroom, telling them to be quiet before saying, “Today, we have a guest speaker who’s going to talk to you about what inspires him to write and how different things influence him into creating his stories. So, without further ado, here’s Loki Laufeyson.”

The class clapped as a tall, dark haired man with glasses perched rather precariously on the bridge of his nose came into the room, smiling politely. Sigrid would never admit to having a slight crush on him - his picture was on the back cover of many of his books, and in fact she was pretty sure he was her sexual awakening. 

“Thank you for having me, Mrs Van Dyne,” Laufeyson said, his voice smooth and suave and so very sophisticated. He started his talk, but Sigrid found herself tuning him out, her focus drifting to the trees outside the window. She started thinking about last night, about her mother crying, about her father shouting, about the police, about staying up late comforting her sobbing mess of a mother, her mother who was usually so strong and put together, reduced to a mess thanks to an abusive partner…

“Larsson!”

Sigrid’s head snapped to the front of the class, where Mrs Van Dyne was glaring at her. The rest of the class plus Laufeyson were staring at her. Sigrid wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

“If you’re quite busy daydreaming, I suggest you pay attention!” her teacher continued, uncaring about humiliating Sigrid in front of her fellow classmates, who already thought she was a loser and a freak. 

The talk resumed, but Sigrid was on the verge of an anxiety attack and struggled to pay attention. She found she couldn’t focus on Laufeyson, because whenever his eyes drifted towards her, she felt embarrassed for the fact she’d been told off in front of him. He probably thought she was a vapid airhead, when in actual fact she was one of his biggest fans. She actually had one of his books in her school bag at that very moment, she’d been re-reading it over the past week preparing herself for today, until last night had happened, of course. 

“Now, Mr Laufeyson will be taking questions from the class. Keep them polite!” Van Dyne said, looking towards the troublemakers in particular. Sigrid sighed quietly to herself, counting the seconds. She hated her father more than ever for ruining this experience for her. Abusive bastard. 

There was laughter and much merriment going on around her, the class enjoying Laufeyson’s stories. Sigrid glanced up when a shadow fell over her, Van Dyne kneeling down to quietly say, “I was under the impression Laufeyson was one of your favourite authors. Why don’t you go sit at the front with the others?”

Sigrid went wide eyed, fear spiking through her. “No thanks,” she mumbled hastily.

“Sigrid, if there’s something going on, you can tell me.”

“I’d rather not,” Sigrid found herself blurting out. Mrs Van Dyne didn’t seem to know what to make of that, so got up and left her alone at the back of the classroom. 

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, Sigrid let her head flop down onto her school bag, breathing in and out deeply whilst the rest of the class made a hasty retreat. She didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want to go home to her room and fear him returning. What if they’d released him already? What if they didn’t think he’d done anything wrong?

She didn’t hear anyone else in the classroom, so allowed herself the luxury of crying, pressing her palms against her eyes, feeling ridiculous for crying at school, but right now, she couldn’t think of doing anything more useful. 

“I hope those tears aren’t because of how bad my talk was.”

Sigrid sat bolt upright, staring with wide eyes at Laufeyson, who was leaning against the table in front of hers holding out a tissue. She took it with a near silent thank you, wiping her runny nose before trying her best to stem the flow of tears.

“Your teacher says you’re a fan of my work.”

Sigrid nodded, her heart rate spiking to dangerous levels. Her favourite writer was here in the flesh staring at her whilst she had a goddamn breakdown. 

He knelt down in front of her desk and rested his arms on the table, his chin on the back of his hands. Her breath hitched at his proximity, her gaze darting to her bag momentarily, hoping he wouldn’t notice the book protruding from it. He did, as it happened. 

“One of mine, I recognise the cover.” He took it out of her bag and smiled to himself. Sigrid’s face was burning, her hands shaking as she hid them under the table. “This looks well read.”

“It is…” she licked her lips nervously. She watched him set the book down and open it up. “What are you-”

“Do you have a pen I could borrow?”

“Um…” She blindly reached into her bag and withdrew a pen at random. “H-Here.”

“Thank you.” He then proceeded to start writing on the title page. Once he was finished, he closed the book and tucked it into her bag along with her pen. “Now, little missy,” he said, turning a dazzling smile upon her, “If those tears aren’t because of me, then what are they for?”

For some strange reason, she felt like she could be open and honest with him. She looked out the window, focusing on the trees, fresh tears welling in her eyes. “I was really looking forward to today,” she began, “But then last night happened.”

“What happened last night, sweetheart?”

His hand came to rest over her shaking ones. She kept staring out the window, leaning forward just enough so her brow was resting against the cold glass.

“My mum left my dad a few years ago because he’s… not very nice. We were starting to get settled in our new lives but last night, he came to the house and he was drunk, even though he’d said before he wasn’t ever going to drink again. He was shouting at us and threatening us and… and he hit my mum. So I called the police on him. I don’t want to go home, though. I’m terrified he’ll be out, I don’t want to go home and have him barge in again. He was never violent when we lived with him, he was just verbally abusive and… and he used to go on drinking binges and steal money from mum.” She closed her eyes.

When she opened them, she saw a raven perched in the nearest tree to her, one beady eye fixed on her. She observed it as she said, “It’s not just him, though. It’s everything. It’s just…” She hesitated before whispering, “I like reading your books because they make me feel like I’m not alone. I don’t really have any friends, most of the people here think I’m a freak. I just… it’s exhausting.”

“Can I let you in on a little secret?” Laufeyson whispered. Sigrid glanced at him shyly, giving a slight nod. He leaned even closer and said in an even quieter voice, “I was a loner and a freak in high school. My father… favoured my big brother and neglected me. He was abusive. But I had the best mum, even though I sometimes hated her for letting my dad get away with what he did, she was always there for me. We don’t choose our parents, and we don’t owe them anything if they treat us so terribly. It took me years to understand that I didn’t have to deal with my father.”

She was silent for a moment. 

“And…” Laufeyson continued, gently nudging her chin up with his finger, his eyes sparkling. “I get a lot of satisfaction in knowing I am better than the man who raised me. You are better than your father, Sigrid. You are better than anyone who puts you down. It won’t always be easy, believe me even now I still struggle, but just know… know that there are things to live for.”

“Like your books?”

He smiled. “Like my books.”

He wiped away a stray tear from her cheek. “Are you feeling a bit better now?”

“Yes, Mr Laufeyson.”

“Call me Loki, please.” He smiled at her and she found herself tentatively smiling back. His face lit up. “That’s what I like to see! You have a beautiful smile, sweetheart.”

She blushed. “Thanks, my mum gave it to me.”

He chuckled at that. 

Sigrid’s phone chimed at that moment. She reached into her pocket and took it out, reading the message her mum had sent her. “My mum’s waiting outside for me,” she said, feeling sad that she’d have to say goodbye to Loki. “She’s taking me out to get something to eat.”

Loki smiled. “You enjoy yourself, sweetheart.”

“I’ll try.” She paused. “Thank you for spending time with me, I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention during your talk.”

“Understandable given the circumstances. Besides, I prefer speaking to people on a one-to-one basis, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” She watched as he straightened up. She stood up as well, feeling slightly dismayed at how short she was compared to him. 

“It was lovely meeting you, Sigrid,” Loki said sincerely. He seemed to pause then, as though contemplating something, before he gently pulled her into a hug. Sigrid found herself hugging him back, her heart racing, her face burning. Loki Laufeyson was hugging her! 

He pulled away, smiling fondly down at her. “I hope we meet again.”

“Me too.” 

She watched him leave the classroom, feeling like she was going through an outer body experience. She remembered the book then, and reached into her bag, pulling it out and opening it up.

_ The sun will shine on you again, sweetheart. _

She hugged the book close to her chest, smiling through her tears.

Six months later, Sigrid finally sat down with Loki Laufeyson’s latest book Starchild. She opened it up onto the acknowledgements page and did a double-take.

_ To my own personal Starchild, whose smile could light up any room. You are better than those who would try to bring you down. Never forget that. The sun will shine on you again, sweetheart. I promise. _

It was at that moment Sigrid decided that Starchild was going to be her favourite book of all time. 

**Author's Note:**

> This takes a lot of inspo from my life. Yay for projection!
> 
> I took the title from the German translation of the lyrics to Total Eclipse Of The Heart from Tanz Der Vampire. Sternkind.
> 
> Also, I'm tempted to write a follow up where they meet again, if anyone would be interested in that.


End file.
